


Training

by mvtk42



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: F/M, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, Yorkalina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-10 15:26:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3295406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mvtk42/pseuds/mvtk42
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Yorkilina, "Are you flirting with me?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Training

**Author's Note:**

> Red vs Blue is property of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. Halo is property of Microsoft, Bungie, and 343 Industries.

"How do I look?"

"You know you’re gonna have your armor on in the training room, right?"

York rolled his eyes with an impatient flap of his arms. “Not the point. Do I look good?” he asked again.

North gave him a quick look over. “Well, the amount of gel in your hair makes wearing a helmet redundant,” he said, leaning back from his desk. “But, to clarify, you’re still going to be _wearing_ a helmet, so I don’t know why you bothered.”

“Because if I know I look good, even if… _other people_ can’t see me my confidence will shine through in my performance and they’ll know I look good, too.”

“Ah,” North said, shaking his head. “Training with Carolina again?”

York made a rude noise and crossed his arms, partially turning away. “What? No,” he said, then a split second later, “Fine, yes.” He scowled as North grinned. “Shut up. Stop smiling.”

“I suppose laughing’s out of the question, too?”

“It’s not funny, man!” York said, throwing his hands up in frustration as he started to pace. “If it’s not missions then it’s studying, eating, sleeping, or some combination thereof, and on none of those occasions does she feel particularly chatty. So if I wanna talk to her I gotta do it while we’re training. So, I gotta train whenever she does.” He blew out his cheeks in a self-deprecating huff. “If nothing else it’ll be enough to get me on the leaderboard.”

North’s smile dimmed. York paused, frowning as he saw North’s mouth give a small twitch. He’d only known the man a couple of weeks, but he’d learned that twitch usually preceded something he didn’t want to hear. “What?”

“Have you ever considered that maybe she’s not interested?” North asked.

York blinked, his mouth working silently until his brain caught up. “Well, I mean… yeah, sure, she kind of kicks me harder after I’ve said something, but… she hasn’t told me to _stop_ ,” he said, hating the note of plaintiveness that entered his voice.

There was a beat of silence as North just stared at him. York scowled, scrounging his brain for a defense he could make on his own behalf. “She’d say something if she didn’t want me to talk to her, right?” he said.

North gave a small shrug. “If she’s not responding, maybe it’s time for you to quit,” he said.

“So what are you saying?” York asked.

“I’m saying that maybe your advances aren’t as welcome as you think. She hasn’t said stop, but… the project is still in its infancy, and just because you two met before, it may be she’s focused more on her professional goals than personal ones,” North said gently. He tried to smile as York’s shoulders slumped. “Just concentrate on doing well enough to get an AI fragment — it’s what you’re here for.”

“Yeah, I guess,” York said without much enthusiasm. He sighed and turned to the door, throwing a halfhearted thanks over his shoulder as he headed for the training room.

///

The impact of the MJOLNIR Mark V boot on York’s chestpiece sounded with a ringing _CLANG!_ as it lifted him off his feet. His back hit the ground hard but he used the momentum to curl into a roll, barely dodging the follow up stomp that would have slammed into his ribs. The second he got his feet under him he launched himself at his opponent only to have her grab his arm and sling him past her. York cursed as he lost his balance, tucking his shoulder to try and retain control over his second fall in as many minutes.

Carolina danced back, fists up in a defensive posture as she waited for him to recover. “You’re quiet,” she noted as he clambered to his feet.

York grunted as he fell into a ready stance, looking for an opening as they began to circle each other. If she wanted him to respect her boundaries, he was going to respect the hell out of them. No more bothering her. “Doing something new,” he said lightly, “Trying to talk you to distraction isn’t working, so I’m giving that up.”

He was rather proud that he managed to keep all traces of dejection out of his voice.

“Is that what that was?” Carolina asked.

In the instant York opened his mouth to answer Carolina sent a fist rocketing towards his face. He blocked it on his left bracer and sent an answering jab with his right hand to her midsection. The back and forth of blows that followed left no attention to be spared for talking. York grit his teeth as he began to give up ground; even without an AI Carolina was a formidable opponent.

This was emphasized when he was a half second slow to react, allowing her to sink a fist directly into his stomach. Even the armor plating and gel-filled layer wasn’t enough to keep the wind from rushing out of him in an ugly sound as he doubled over.

Again Carolina backed off. He sank to his knees and tried to find a way to make wheezing sound cool and not humiliating as he struggled to breathe.

“Your secondary tactics don’t appear to be working,” Carolina remarked.

York lifted his head to glare at her, though the effect was diminished due to his helmet. Once his lungs resumed functioning he was going to come back with the best retort she’d ever heard. In the meantime he tried to fill his inelegant coughing with as much derision as he could in hopes that she would get the idea.

Something must have translated because Carolina gave a low chuckle. “You fight better when you talk,” she said.

“You also… hit me… harder,” York pointed out, sucking in great big breaths now that he was able.

Carolina extended her hand to help him up, which he took after a moment’s hesitation. “There’s a reason for that,” she said as she pulled him to his feet.

“Yeah, I get it, you want me to leave you alone,” York said as a sigh slipped out of him.

“Is that what you think?” Carolina asked.

She hadn’t let go of his hand yet, York noticed. He stiffened, confused, wary, and hopeful in equal parts. “Is there another explanation for getting more violent whenever I hit on you?” he returned.

Carolina didn’t reply immediately. It was exceedingly difficult to gauge someone’s facial expressions through the opaque faceplate, but York was an optimist. He held his breath, praying.

After a small eternity she finally spoke. “Maybe as much as I like hearing you talk, I like the way you look when you’re focused more,” she said.

York started in surprise. “That was almost a compliment,” he said.

“Got that, did you?”

His brow furrowed. “So, you… like the way…?” he started, but the idea seemed too ludicrous to voice. Instead he changed his question to, “Are you flirting with me?”

He was not at all prepared for Carolina to pull him into a sweeping kick that knocked his legs out from under him. He landed with a grunt as his helmet smacked the hard ground. By the time his eyes had resumed focusing, Carolina was sauntering away from the training room floor.

“No, but seriously, I’m gonna need an answer!” he called as he picked himself up off the ground.  
  
Her sultry laugh was his only reply.


End file.
